Monday, April 20, 2015

Phil Hughes died in
Nov 2014 after being hit by a bouncer whilst at the crease in Sheffield Shield clash at the Sydney Cricket
Ground, sparking a massive outpouring of grief.

The World’s
highest mountain peak Mount Everest is called Chomolungma in Tibetan and
Sagarmāthā in Nepali. It is
8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level, located in
Mahalangur section of the Himalaya on the Nepal-China (Tibet) border. Turning the annals of History, in 1856, the Great Trigonometric Survey of
British India established the first published height of Everest, then known as
Peak XV, at 29,002 ft (8,840 m). In 1865, Everest
was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society upon
recommendation of Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India at the
time, who named it after his predecessor in the post, and former chief, Sir
George Everest.

More than 3000 climbers from over 20 countries had made over 5000
recorded climbs. Hundreds have died in
their attempts. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the
summit on May 29, 1953. Tenzing Norgay
was a Sherpa. There are two main routes
to the top, one from Nepal and the other from Tibet. The southern route from Nepal is the most
popular, and the simplest to do. There
are also 16 other recognised routes.

Adam
Craig Parore, a stylish wicket keeper, played 78 Tests and 179 One dayers for New
Zealand. Remember he played for Chennai
Superstars in ICL. He holds the record for the highest One Day
International innings score without a boundary (96 vs India, in Baroda, 1994]. Parore is a Maori, and he summitted Mount
Everest too, guided by Queenstown mountain guide Mark Woodward who has stood atop Mt Everest
eight times. Edmund Hillary was a kiwi
as well. Like the ball that would wobble out of the
gloves at times, Adam Parore failed in his first attempt but the grit and
determination that he displayed during his cricketing career was to the fore as
he succeeded in the second time despite running out of oxygen and
"freaking out" several times on his way up.

Many climbers dream
of reaching the peak of the world's highest mountain at least once in their
lifetime. Chhurim Sherpa did it twice --
in one week ~that becoming a ‘Guinness
World Record’ formally recognized after almost an year. "People
have set different kinds of climbing records in Everest," said Chhurim, --
the Guinness plaque reads : "but no
one has climbed twice within a week”. Chhurim
made her initial ascent on May 12 and then, after a two-day rest on her return
to base camp, reached the peak again on May 19, 2012.

Growing up in
Taplejung district in north-eastern Nepal, Chhurim's early romance with
mountaineering blossomed when she saw tourists trekking through her village.
She wanted to do the same. Concerned about the risks and dangers, Chhurim's
parents, however, were wary of her planned Everest ascent. She was determined. En route to the world's highest peak, she
also traversed the Khumbu Icefall at 5,486m as well as the steepest climb after
Camp 3 (7,470m), all while carrying 15 kilograms of her expedition gear that
she said seemed to weigh more like 50. Though
successful in her own right, Chhurim still laments not being able to continue
school after eighth grade. There was no high school in her village and her
family did not have the money to move to Kathmandu, or the closest town with a
school.

Chhurim
Sherpa, the first woman to climb the
Everest summit twice in a week, is in news again as she began her journey for a
third ascent to Mount Everest on Sunday but this time some odd items were also
part of her climbing gear. She takes
with her a cricket bat and two jerseys
belonging to deceased Australian cricketer Phil Hughes to the summit as a mark
of tribute to the player. Churrim would carry the items to the top and back to
Kathmandu, where they will be kept at the Australian embassy.

Sherpa
(Tibetan: "eastern people") are an ethnic group from the most
mountainous region of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. Sherpas are highly regarded as elite
mountaineers and experts in their local terrain. They have been of immeasurably valuable to explorers of the
Himalayan region, serving as guides at the extreme altitudes. Sherpas often
prepare the route for the mountaineers to follow.

On 18
April 2014, falling blocks of ice killed 16 Sherpas as they attempted to fix
guide-ropes through the glacial Khumbu Icefall at the base of the peak. The
accident led to angry protests by the mountain guides who demanded more
compensation and higher insurance payouts from the government. After the avalanche, the Sherpas cancelled
summit season in honour of their dead comrades and hundreds of disappointed
mountaineers were forced to return home.
A year on, much of this anger appears to have dissipated and the Sherpas
are returning to work.